Imports sustain the pressure of the recession and lack of supply

"The South African and Spanish citrus campaigns are fully complementary"

The 2013 import campaign of citrus from the Southern Hemisphere has pretty much finished for the company FRUTAS NIQUI MADRIMPORT S.L., with lemons and grapefruit no longer being imported and the juicing orange season coming to a close next week.

The Spanish firm is exclusively devoted to the import of fruits, moving around 22,000 tonnes per year, and is specialised in apples, both European and from the Southern Hemisphere, and citrus from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and South Africa.

Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Commercial Director of Frutas Niqui Madrimport

"The campaign has been marked by shortages of South African fruit in the case of oranges, with mostly smaller calibres and low production volumes. Additionally, the local Valencia Late campaign quickly passed on the baton to the fruit for import, due to a lower production and issues with preservation. As a result, prices remained on the high side," explains Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Commercial Director of Frutas Niqui Madrimport.

Miguel Ángel commented that the market recognises South African oranges as a quality product and admits being unfamiliar with the alleged danger that their import to Spain could entail. "I believe that the South African and Spanish campaigns are fully complementary and mutually beneficial, as they provide one another with continuity. It would be hard to conceive one without the other. This, in my opinion, is good for everyone."

However, with lemons everything was more difficult in the beginning. "Lemons started with very low prices and a stagnant market, as well as plenty of stocks in the warehouses, but after the late June frosts in Tucuman, the market started reactivating, coinciding with the seasonality in the consumption of the fruit, and changing into a new cycle. Sales skyrocketed until prices reached significantly high levels. It was a campaign with an important speculative component."

Imports sustain the pressure of the recession and lack of supply

Imports have gone through a complicated period over the past years as a result of the recession and the consolidation of various emerging economies. Meanwhile, the increase in transport prices has been smaller than anticipated.

"Within a globalised market, exporters must decide which market to ship their fruit to, and at the moment there are more markets competing for the fruit, with financial positions just as competitive or even stronger than those found in the European market. In Latin America and Asia, for example, domestic consumption has grown, as well as their import volumes. This context puts more and more pressure on European importers, who suffer greater price volatility. This is why prices have broken numerous records this season."

"The combination of a financial crisis with a great lack of supply leads to sawtooth wave patterns, with really high prices that bring lower consumption levels, which eventually cause sudden price drops. Being able to handle these circumstances is a true challenge for importers."

Good prospects for the mango campaign

"This year, we will start importing mangoes from Peru and Brazil much earlier than usual, given the circumstances in the Spanish Tropical Coast, where production levels have plunged. Interest for imported fruit is already noticeable."